Civil Protection?
by Deunan and Hawkings
Summary: A Civil Protection Agent goes on an adventure through toxic wastes, fruitless battles all while disobeying orders from his superiors... Why? Because he's still human and that damn cat won't leave him alone! M for language/Blood/Gore... Just to be safe.
1. Civil Protection?

**The Civil Protection agent and Oscar**.

* * *

A regular day in City 17, a Civil Protection agent was guarding another exit out of City 17 where Striders walked behind in order to _'keep the peace'_, much like every other Civil Protection agent does now.

With a sigh beneath the mask he volunteered to wear, Civil Protection agent John Irisonn was a very simple and very bored man.

Only the Civil Protection agents in the cities are humans who volunteered to wear a Combine mask and suits for benefits, such as better food, place to sleep, comfort and such.  
The better one does, the better one gets treated.

John had only been a Civil Protection agent for a few years now, so until the superiors decided it was time to move him up, he didn't receive any enhancements or any tests that would result in him loosing more of his human nature like the others had gotten.

Unfortunately, John Irisonn had nothing to do to, therefore, he did not get treated as well as the others who went to war to battle various enemies.  
The list just goes on...

Today something miraculous would happen and it can and will change the life of John forever.  
However, he did not know this fantastic opportunity when it crossed his path.

A small gray tabby kitten, maybe as tall as his ankle, walked up to him and began rubbing it's head all around Johns foot and ankle.

This irritated him since Civil Protection agents or CP's are not supposed to have close interactions with anyone but another CP.  
So this small harmless and loving creature could easily get him fired.

To dispatch of this annoyance, if you can call it that, John pushed the cat away with his foot.

Which only interested the cat for some odd reason, the cat waltzed right back and soon began purring and playing with Johns foot as if it was cat nip.

John pushed it away again, except harder, and the cat rolled over a few feet away.  
It didn't know that it's back was facing John so it got confused and curious how someone could disappear like that.

It stood and looked around before it realized, it was pointing the wrong direction.

Running back up to John it quickly made up for the time lost by attempting to climb his leg, which resulted in much pain from John.

He holstered his gun and lifted the cat up.  
"What do you want?" John asked the cat who stared at him with two large eyes.

"Well?" The cat ignored him and tried to play with the strand that came loose from his clothes.  
With a sigh John walked away, into the plaza, set the cat down and walked away.

City 17 dwellers watched in awe as this small kitten followed the CP without any interest in any of the ones calling it.

The people were worried this cat would see to a sad death if it kept following that CP agent and tried to get it to come to them.  
Using many items such as old toys, herbs stuffed inside a small material bag to form a cat nip ball and some promises of love and affection.

The gray tabby watched them as it trotted right past, none of those items or promises were as interesting as the seemingly heartless Civil Protection agent.

As soon as John returned to his post, he turned around as the cat approached.  
John sighed aggravatingly as the cat rolled on it's back as soon as it got close enough.

He shook his head in hopes to ignore it.

This gray tabby kitten noticed this and became even more determined to get him to play with him.

As the cat walked up some stairs far away from John he thought that he had finally ignored it enough that it got bored and ran away to find some other one to play with.

Little did he know that this cat was much smarter then the average pet and that now this kitten will ensure that this CP would pay full attention to him.

John stood there and identified some City 17 fellows to make sure they could enter and exit this area.  
Other CP's left the area had nothing was left but two people off in the distance chatting away.

As soon as all seemed quiet, the kitten leaped onto the edge of this old broken building, about several feet above John's head so he could not see him.

With a playful appearance the kitten pounced off the building edge and onto John's head, holding onto him by his claws John fell over from the sudden shock.

Now on his back, the kitten began rubbing his face all over.  
John was more angry then ever, that small gray striped feline made him look like a dolt.

He picked the cat up in his arms and held it tightly in anger as the kitten just took it as John petting him and purred happily.

"Where are you from you damn furball?" He got a hold of the collar.  
"Oscar? That's your name? Pathetic name, your pathetic" He held the cat up and talked to it.  
As John tried to insult it, the kitten only loved on him more.

"You are a sap, a lazy weak sap, you waste of breath!" He held it with his hand and walked into the building he was guarding.

"You don't even deserve to live in this town, I mean, your going to die one way or the other, I'd prefer if it was me too" He held the gun to the kitten who licked and pawed it like it was a new shiny toy.

John was ready to fire when the kitten yawned and made itself comfortable in his arm.  
In the end, especially after this act of cuteness played on Oscar's side, he couldn't bring himself to killing the small frail furball.  
Instead he looked into the security databanks to find out where this cat was from.

On the collar of this kitten was an address, or at least a form of one.

It said; _Marie Annis, 3833 Black Mesa East_.

Now, John knew where and what Black Mesa is... was, he also knew that Black Mesa East was deserted for awhile now.  
Rather confused, John decided whoever this Marie Annis was, maybe at the old Black Mesa site just outside City 17.

"Alright you pathetic waste of life... Oscar... Your going home and this time I will personally see to it that you are caged in there!" He practically growled to himself when he put Oscar in a crate which he made sure air could get in and that there was a towel for a makeshift bed and two bowls, one for water and one for food.

"If I was a higher rank then I am now, you'd be dead and I wouldn't care... so be thankful furball" He closed and nailed shut the crate in order to conceal the fact he had a kitten hidden.

He picked up the crate that hid the kitten and walked into an APC with few other CP's and headed off.

The other CP's were going to guard some other parts of City 17.  
John, on the other hand, was finding someway to quickly and quietly get out of City 17. Why he is doing this? One may ask, is because no matter how much he tells himself that he joined the Combine because he believes in what their doing, the truth is, he only joined them because he couldn't stand the boring and dull living situations he had in the Cities he was taken too.

_"You're lucky, you are a very lucky bastard furball"_ He thought to himself as he looked at the crate that held Oscar.

* * *


	2. Dead Pilots and Plots

**The Civil Protection agent and Oscar**.

* * *

John walked through the streets of City 17 carrying Oscar's crate in one hand and another crate full of ammo and such in the other, so no one would get suspicious.

Oscar had not woken since they left and never made a peep which was very good for John.

He walked to the outside of the City and breathed in.  
"Ah, the sweet smell of toxic waters" He smiled and continued to walk on.

Understanding that even though these are toxic and deadly waters, the ground wasn't, therefore he could and woulc walk freely through the canals in order to reach Black Mesa East.

He could have gotten a chopper or a APC unit, but then they'd become suspicious and others would have to come along and that didn't bode well.

As he walked he constantly had to check the map to make sure he was pointed in the right direction.

Then a Hunter Chopper flew toward him, out of nowhere.

The one piloting the Hunter Chopper had lost his gunner, which meant that he wanted John to hop on.  
Though having second thoughts John got into the Hunter Chopper and placed both crates inside and he took the gunner position.

As they flew away, he could see Black Mesa was near him, which made him curse under his breath.

The pilot explained their situation to John who listened closely and than thought that amazingly this may be his big chance to become even more part of the Combine's forces... but he also regretted that since he knows what would happen if he did.

"There he is" John said over the comm and the pilot flew down to the Airboat that quickly traveled through the tunnels.

As he began firing, the man in the airboat dodged and went all over the place in order to remain alive.

Oscar had not been heared so John thought either the noise was bothering him so much he tired to cover his ears, as best as a cat can, or was a heavy sleeper.

John smiled but continued his work.

As the pilot flew behind the airboat and was now directly above it, the pilot released bombs in hopes to blow him out of the airboat.

And then that failed when the airboat maneuvered onto the ground and onto a make shift ramp and jumped over a pile of cars and broken items.

John shool his head, the airboat driver was good, real good.

Again, firing on him as both the pilot and John realized the airboat was driving directly into the tunnel up ahead, they reacted quickly and John tried to shoot him down, which ultimately failed again.

John was amazed that one man could be so brilliant, so shockingly fast with decisions that would usually hold no good outcome for others.

The pilot flew to the other end, waiting for the airboat to drive out.

John readied the turret and waited.

Though, very surprisingly, the airboat came out it also began firing on the chopper.

John was thinking about swearing out loud, but that may get him in trouble from the pilots report after they get this guy.

The pilot quickly flew off some distance when he spotted a large dam up ahead, where airboat would be forced to stop and the man would have to get out.

John smiled widely beneath the mask as the pilot turned around and just as predicted, the airboat stopped and the man exited the vehicle, but the man ran inside the building before John and this pilot could get him.

So they waited around the dam's doors until they could see him.

Wonderfully, that didn't take long, the man ran up some stairs onto the roof of the building and shot down a few Combine.

After firing on the man for sometime, John realized this fellow was much smarter then your average joe, and he had very odd clothing, like nothing John's seen before.  
Orange and black, almost looked like armor?...

Well, John didn't get too involved with finding who that man was.

After firing on the man for some time John needed to let the gun cool, so as the man climbed up a ladder into a small room a few gunshots went off then John could once again see the man in the orange and black clothing.

John fired once more, only to gain return fire which made the pilot move to the other side on the building, but again return fire damaged the hunter chopper and caused the pilot to be forced to fly to the landing pad not far from there and repair the ship.

Oscar who was slightly disturbed by the sounds got up and began meowing and clawing at the crate.

The pilot couldn't hear Oscar very much and decided it was just the engine, landing the hunter chopper and made his way out with John.

After sharing a few words to show the Combine in the barn that they were hunting down a man in an airboat, the pilot reloaded all his guns, or the few that he had, and John grabbed Oscar's crate and snuck out the back door.

Weary that the pilot would die a firey death and so would he if he did not leave.

"You've gotten me in deep cat" He said as he got into this small boat and drove away, but before he did the pilot noticed he'd left... It's unacceptable to abandon battle...

The pilot turned to the other few Combine solders and told them what he just saw, the Combine retreated without authorization or orders to!

John made sure the crate wouldn't go any where until he reached Black Mesa, which on the map was rather close... Thankfully.

"Cat, don't turn on me now, not after everything I've done and am going to do!" John pointlessly talked to Oscar who didn't understand a single bit of it, come to think of it, Oscar never understood anything John said, he just has an obsession with John.

Watching the radar closely he realized the former Black Mesa East building was right in front of him.  
Looking up he smiled beneath the odd mask. "At last" He sighed.

Upon nearing the building he saw the boat he and the pilot were chasing earlier.  
"Son of a bitch... This may prove difficult" John turned off his boat and let the current pull him forward.

Reaching the edge he pulled himself up and tied the boat by two ropes onto two strong standing poles.

"Wait here cat, and please don't make too much noise... this could be dangerous" John walked around a large wall and looked from behind a crate.

"Wow. Lot of blood... but of what?" He looked from side to side, a head crab upon various other dead things caught his attention...  
"I seriously hope there are no zombies... I **_hate _**zombies" After loudly expressing his discomfort, John pulled out his gun and made a quick scan.

"Clean so far... no more of those damn headcrabs... none... dammit, still tense" He cursed himself for being much to afraid of the alien headcrabs that turn people into mindless crazed monsters and try to kill everything they can see.

John backed up into a dark room and then, after being satisfied nothing was following him he turned around to see complete darkness.

"Shit... for all I know this woman may be a damn zomb-" Just then the door closed behind him, locking him into the small room and all light from the outside disappeared.  
"Oh no, not good, not good, not good, oh fuck!" He looked and examined every inch of the room, making sure there was no way out but more importantly, no way for headcrabs to get in.

"What is it?" A voice said after small red lights appeared in John's face.  
"I don't believe it... It's a Combine!... wait... It's human, that means this is a cop from the city... right?" A voice said.

As John was freaking out, worried that maybe Black Mesa only faked being closed?... That'd be very, very bad.

"Who's there?!" He called out looking at the two machines that popped out of the ceiling that reminded him of the camera's in the interrogation rooms.

"How did a cop get out here? And how did it know where too look?" A mans voice came through the comm.

"I know someones there! I can clearly hear voices! And I'm not a schizophrenic!" He looked back and forth between the two Combine camera-like machines.

"But it's showing human life... not many alterations like others who've came here before" One said.  
"Listen to him!" Another voice demanded.  
"Did you say anything?" A man asked John.

"Yeah, I said _who are you_!?" John repeated nervously.

"He can't be a cop... He speaks like a normal human!" A woman said.  
"Doesn't mean anything, just goes to show those Combine bastards are getting better in manipulating us!" A very harsh mans tone came.

"You there! What's your name? Do you even have one?" The woman's voice came along again.

"Why would I tell you who I am?..." John shook his head, hating himself for even talking to the people behind the speakers.

"If you want to live! Tell us who you are! What is your number? Why are you here?" The same, slightly stressed, harsh mans tone spoke again.  
"Shut up Norman!" Then John heard a sound that resembled a stumbling persons feet.

"Sir, please put down your gun and tell us who you are" The woman asked politely which made John calm down a bit...  
"I'm... John Irisonn, I'm a Civil Protection agent from City 17..." John sighed and put his gun on the ground and slid it across the room, along with his pistol and grenades.  
"And now... I'm unarmed"

"See, I told you!" The woman's voice said and another voice just made a '_hmpf_' sound, which made John chuckle.  
"What are you doing here, Mr. Irisonn?" The woman asked.

"I'm... well, I'm not at liberty to say Ma'am" John cursed himself for every word he said, every letter he haplessly blurted out the calming sound of this womans voice.

"I guess I understand that... But you'll have to tell us more if we are to let you live, you understand that right?" She asked.  
John nodded with a very exhausted expression, although no one could tell from behind the ocular eyed mask.

"I understand, but who are you? Why is this Black Mesa facility occupied? It was abandon years ago... wasn't it?" John asked practically flabbergasted.

The woman's voice made a pleasant '_hmmm'_ and answered. "This isn't really a Black Mesa facility, what made you think that? It never was" John thought for a moment...  
"Well, honestly, I thought the large facility-like building would be the best place to look for the Black Mesa East building... I really thought this was it... Wait... How did my radar pick it up?..." John tried to think, but was interrupted by the woman's voice again.

"We're going to take you inside, ask questions, see if you can help us, if so you live, if not... you get it I believe" John nodded.  
"Loud and clear... unfortunately" John sighed as the inside door was opened and multiple guns cocked and aimed at him.

"Well, shit... Resistance members... I should've known" He shook his head as two of the resistance members walked with pistols aiming at him and picked up his weapons.

"Go ahead, help yourself... Seems where I'm going, I'm not going to need it..."

"Follow us" The woman's voice said as she exited a small room.  
"You didn't answer me, who are you?" John asked again crossing his arms.

"It wouldn't be wise to give out my name, and anyways, you're in no position to negotiate any kind of terms and conditions, not yet at least" She grinned a very sly grin and led John toward a large room.

"Is this going to hurt?" He asked looking in the almost empty room, all it had was four resistance members a few computers and chairs, what seemed to John a doctor or a scientist exited the room.

"It shouldn't, all we're doing is asking questions, we're not like Combine, so get in, sit down and cooperate, we'll be fine after that" John rubbed his neck.  
"I have to warn you, I don't anything about the Combine... just a few plans and such, nothing deathly important" John bared his teeth beneath the mask again.

"Boy you really don't get this do you Mr. Irisonn! You sit, we ask, you answer right, you live, it doesn't matter if you do or do not know something that's fine, we know not all cop's know everything, we've alerted our superiors and they'll be here shortly, until then you'll answer to me" She shut the door behind them.

"Now I won't ask you again, sit down Mr. Irisonn and let's have a little chat"  
As John shuttered he knew that if he didn't say anything that he would be here for a long time... and Oscar would run out of food...

* * *


End file.
